John Paul II the Musical to open next week

A musical based on the life of John Paul II is to open in Rome next week featuring big dance numbers as it covers key events in his life.

The unlikely spectacular will cover moments in his life, including his early years under Nazi occupation in his native Poland, his struggle against Communism and his election as pontiff in 1978.

It will also depict the attempt on his life in 1981, when a Turkish gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot him in the stomach, hand and arm as the pontiff rode in his open-topped Popemobile through St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

The two-hour show is called “Non Abbiate Paura” — Italian for Don’t Be Scared